Coming to America: Ford's 3-cylinder Fiesta

Automotive News reports on Ford's plan to sell a three-cylinder version of its Fiesta in the U.S.

by

Automotive News

July 18, 20119:54 AM PDT

Ford

It's logical: Ford's Fiesta gets a 3-cylinder engine.
Ford

Ford will bring a three-cylinder Fiesta to America. All it took was a little deductive reasoning to figure that out. Various Ford executives have dropped hints--or pointedly not ruled it out as U.S. gasoline prices rose toward $4 a gallon this year.

And Ford has developed a new 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine dripping with Ford's EcoBoost fuel-sipping technology: turbocharging, variable valve timing, offset crankshaft and other goodies.

So here's the logic for a U.S. three-banger Fiesta:

--Production of the 1.0-liter engine starts in Europe in the spring of 2012.

--The three-cylinder engine will be offered in the United States, Ford power-train executive Greg Johnson said last week.

--Ford says it fits only in its three global small cars: the Ka, Figo, and Fiesta.

--Ford will not sell the Ka or Figo in the United States. The Ka, made at Fiat's Tychy, Poland, plant, is too small; and the India-built Figo is a Fiesta derivative aimed at developing markets.

No word on timing. Ford hasn't rated the 1.0-liter's output. But Johnson said Ford's new turbo designs are approaching 120 hp per liter.